1 Samuel 27

Worn down by Saul’s pursuit, David decides on his own to flee to the Philistines. He settles in Ziklag and raids Israel’s old enemies while letting Achish believe he is raiding Judah. The chapter shows a man of faith in a season of fear, scheming and deception, with God still quietly protecting him.

1 Samuel 27:1

David speaks only to himself. He does not ask God, and no prophet or priest is consulted. Fear convinces him that Saul will eventually kill him, so he settles on escape to enemy territory. It is a sobering picture of how a faithful man can lose heart.

BSA: swept away (“consumed, destroyed”): David feels that Saul’s pursuit will finally finish him off completely. nothing (“no hope, no alternative”): He sees only one way out, forgetting God’s earlier promises and rescues.

See also: 1 Samuel 23:17; Psalm 56:3.

1 Samuel 27:2-3

David goes to Achish, king of Gath, with his six hundred men. Their families come too, along with his wives Ahinoam and Abigail. This is the same Gath he fled from earlier in fear. Now he has become a refugee under the protection of Israel’s enemies.

BSA: family (“household, dwelling place”): These were whole households uprooted from Israel and now depending on David’s decisions.

See also: 1 Samuel 21:10-15; 1 Samuel 25:42-43.

1 Samuel 27:4

Saul gives up the chase once David leaves Israel. David’s plan works on the surface. Yet it also takes him away from the land God promised and from the people he was meant to serve. Relief that comes by our own scheming can carry hidden costs.

BSA: searched (“sought, looked for”): The long hunt that had shaped David’s life stops, at least for now.

1 Samuel 27:5

David asks Achish for a town of his own. He gives a polite reason: he is unworthy to live in the royal city. He probably has other motives too. A separate town would give his men room and more privacy, and it would keep him from being closely watched.

BSA: favor (“grace, kindness”): David speaks the language of a humble servant asking a gift from his lord. servant (“slave, attendant”): He takes the lowly title of a vassal, which helps him win Achish’s trust.

1 Samuel 27:6

Achish gives David Ziklag, a town in the south on the edge of Judah’s territory. The writer adds that it belonged to Judah’s kings from then on. Even in David’s wandering, God was preparing a base for him and later a place in his kingdom’s story.

BSA: gave (“to give, put, or set something”): Achish hands over the town as a settled possession, not a temporary camp.

See also: Joshua 15:31.

1 Samuel 27:7

David lives in Philistine territory for one year and four months. The writer notes the time exactly. This stretch is short compared to the years of running from Saul. It marks a distinct and troubled chapter in David’s life before he becomes king.

BSA: months (“lunar cycles, periods of new moon”): Time was counted by the moon, so this was a carefully counted period.

1 Samuel 27:8

From Ziklag David raids tribes living south of Judah toward Shur and Egypt. The Amalekites in particular were long-standing enemies of Israel whom God had earlier ordered to be judged. So David is fighting peoples hostile to God’s people, even while living among Philistines.

BSA: raided (“made a raid upon, pillaged”): These were swift strikes to plunder, not formal wars.

See also: Exodus 17:14-16; 1 Samuel 15:2-3.

1 Samuel 27:9

David strikes without mercy. He kills every man and woman and brings back livestock and clothing. The writer simply reports it without approving it. The killing was meant to leave no witnesses. It shows how one deception drags a person into more and more compromise.

BSA: alive (“living, breathing”): No survivor was left who could tell the truth about where David had been.

Hebrew: הִכָּה (hikkah, H5221) — “struck, smote.” This common Hebrew word for striking is used for decisive blows in battle. It conveys total defeat, not just a skirmish.

1 Samuel 27:10

Achish asks where he has raided, and David gives misleading answers. He names places in the Negev of Judah, of Jerahmeel and of the Kenites. Those areas lay near Judah, and the Kenites and Jerahmeel were friendly to Judah. David lets Achish think he has been attacking his own people.

BSA: Negev (“south country, desert region”): This dry southern land bordered Judah, so David’s claims sounded believable.

1 Samuel 27:11

To keep the lie from being exposed, David kills everyone who might be taken to Gath. His practice goes on the whole time he is there. Hiding a lie takes more and more effort. Scripture lets us see the cost of David’s path without excusing it.

BSA: custom (“manner”): This was a settled pattern, not a single act. report (“lest”): Fear of being found out drives his every move here.

See also: Proverbs 29:25.

1 Samuel 27:12

Achish believes David has made himself hated by Israel and will therefore serve him forever. He is wrong, since David’s heart and future belong to Israel. The chapter closes with David trusted by the wrong man for the wrong reason. God’s purposes still stand, even where David stumbles.

BSA: stench (“to smell bad, be hated”): Achish pictures David as someone whose own people can no longer stand him. forever (“always, for eternity”): Achish assumes David’s loyalty is permanent, though it is not.

Hebrew: הִבְאִישׁ (hiv’ish, H887) — “made himself foul-smelling.” The Hebrew uses a picture of a bad smell for being despised. Achish thinks David has become repulsive to his own nation.

See also: 1 Samuel 29:3.